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UNIT X: REFLECTION

In reflection, I found Unit X difficult because I had to prioritise psychology (as I am considering changing university courses in September). However, in the last 2 weeks before the deadline I picked up the pace and explored the attitude behind Madchester’s rave scene and how that has influenced current student dirnking culture, using the colours, patterns, architecture and fashion to express this. I have enjoyed the last 2 weeks as a result of my final push! My only concern is the lack of group work I was part of. I think as a group we struggled to mould our ideas together into one final outcome, and as a result our final outcome is multiple mini-projects all based loosely on Madchester. As a group we have explored the Madchester attitude, fashion, music influences, effects of drugs taken during Madchester, the body movements of the ravers and MORE! Most valuable has been learning about the hisptry behind Manchester’s music industry and club culture now, and I now feel even more proud to call the grim, grey and rainy streets of Manchester my second home!

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

Experiencing paranoia, whilst slipping pills out of my pocket.

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

This is the moment the security guard walked up the stairs...

He said ‘this looks a little unusual, but don’t worry I’ll let you finish your work’

I’m going for the creepy, out of it look here.

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UNIT X- INVESTIGATION

MID-RAVE ON photoshoot in the toast rack derelict building, featuring my edited clothing.

Denim jacket painted yellow with RAVE ON message on the back, pill-pockets and bead sleeves

Black jumper painted ecstasy yellow face

WAAVVYY////Y

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UNIT X LYRICS WHICH REFLECT THE MADCHESTER ATTITUDE- wreckless, arrogant, no fucks given.

"She Bangs The Drums"- The Stone Roses I can feel the earth begin to move I hear my needle hit the groove And spiral through another day I hear my song begin to say Kiss me where the sun don't shine The past was yours But the future's mine You're all out of time I don't feel too steady on my feet I feel hollow I feel weak Passion fruit and holy bread Fill my guts and ease my head Through the early morning sun I can see her here she comes She bangs the drums Have you seen her have you heard The way she plays there are no words To describe the way I feel

Step On”- Happy Mondays

He's gonna step on you again, he's gonna step on you He's gonna step on you again, he's gonna step on you You're twistin' my melon man, you know you talk so hip man You're twistin' my melon man

Hey rainmaker, come away from that man You know he's gonna take away your promised land Hey good lady he just wants what you got you know He'll never stop until he's taken the lot (Hey Hey he hey hey)

Gonna stamp out your fire, he can change your desire Don't you know he can make you forget you're a man Gonna stamp out your fire, he can change your desire Don't you know he can make you forget you're the man You're a man

You're twistin' my melon man, you speak so hip

Hey rainmaker he got golden plans I tell you You'll make a stranger in your own land Hey good lady he's got God on his side He got a double tongue You never think he would lie

“Groovy Train”- The Farm

I saw you walking down our street Well you looked quite neat Baggy jeans and long blond hair Without a care in the world What happened to the attitude you used to have at school What happened to the attitude when you broke all the rules I saw you just the other week But we did not speak You turned your back and flicked your hair As if you did not care Well I don't care where you come from I don't give a damn Well I don't care where you come from It's all a sham You're so special You're so special She sings Get on, get on, get on, get on 'the groovy train' Get on, get on, get on, get on 'the groovy train’

“This Is How It Feels”- Inspiral Carpets

Husband don't know what he's done Kids don't know what's wrong with mum She can't say, they can't see Putting it down to another bad day Daddy don't know what he's done Kids don't know what's wrong with mum

So this is how it feels to be lonely This is how it feels to be small This is how it feels when your word means nothing at all

Black car drives through the town Some guy from the top estate Left a note for a local girl And yet he had it all on a plate

So this is how it feels to be lonely (feels to be lonely) This is how it feels to be small (feels to be small) This is how it feels when your word means nothing at all

Husband don't know what he's done Kids don't know what's wrong with mum She can't say, they can't see Putting it down to another bad day

“Can You Dig It?”- The Mock Turtles

Can you understand me now 

I'll get it through somehow 

You won't ever get me down Won't see me hanging around Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it what I'm saying One little kiss isn't anything You keep insisting on everything I won't be sad Ah, someone turn the lights off

See how big and strong I've grown I'm standing on my own Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it what I'm saying One little kiss isn't anything You keep insisting on everything I won't be sad Ah, someone turn the lights off

Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it (oh, yeah) Can you dig it what I'm saying One little kiss isn't anything You keep insisting on everything I won't be sad Ah, someone turn the lights off Can you dig it Can you dig it Can you dig it Can you dig it

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

Dusty aftermath of a Madchester night.

Weird yellow bunny- where did you come from?

Dead moth

Drug plastic bag

Flashback to a corridor view

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

Here I expressed the ‘out of it’ feeling experienced when taking drugs of any kind, by posing in incongruous ways and blurring the photographs erratically

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

I enjoy this blurry effect I created, because it makes the image seem less perfect, and more like a drunken club photograph. 

Although, I have initially struggled with using Madchester for inspiration, I have come to realise that madchester is so prevelant in today’s Manchester student culture. Students have a stereotype of not caring about anything, and getting wasted. I feel that this attitude may have roots in the late 80/early 90s rave scene, and therefore Madchester is a lot closer to my student, maverick heart than I first thought! Furthermore, we shot these photographs in the Toast Rack (a building which was around and derelict even when my Dad was a student in Manchester in the early 80s!). It is a building which could be seen as a landmark and an ode to all those wreck-head students of Manchester. Interestingly, we were caught in the act by a security guard, who kindly let us continue with the photoshoot, but did assist us out after half an hour. I feel like us breaking into the building is a Madchester-act in itself! 

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

Clown-like images.

‘Quiet please. Examination in progress’- hahaha NO, WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION. 

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UNIT X: MORE INVESTIGATIONS

This time, I focused more on using bright, bold primary colours, especially red and yellow, to show the euphoria that Madchester ravers felt when they were on ecstasy. I’ve also included lots of industrial-style stripes to reflect the poster designs of the notorious Hacienda nightclub, where many of Madchester’s core bands played weekly. The pose in the 3rd image is typical Madchester dancing (if that’s what you can call it)

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UNIT X: INVESTIGATION

These are the clothes I changed.

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UNIT X RESEARCH

/////// INSPIRATION FOR CLOTHING EDITS ///////

black and yellow

blocks of colour

baggy for dancing

band references- lemons

Hacienda ectasy scene

pride in Manchester

primary colours

industrial diagonal lines

cannot be arsed/do not give a fuck attitude

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UNIT X: After 2 weeks of Easter, I have had a Eureka moment. I want to manipulate 80s/90s clothing with colours, stitch, knitting, old tapes and cds, pill packets, to make wearable Manchester, acid-rave clothes. This week: GATHER! Old cds, dungarees, denim jacket, jeans, baggy jacket, bucket hat. THINK ABOUT RELEVANCE TO MADCHESTER This weekend: go home and rip, tear, paint, splat, make holes, cut away, sew. THINK ABOUT HOW SUITABLE FOR RAVE DANCING. Next week: work on details and photograph up on toast rack. THE TOAST RACK IS PICTURED ABOVE. Urban, scabby setting.

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UNIT X

The art collaborative DR.ME ran an experimental collage-making workshop with us on Thursday. 

Here is my collage about the wife of a milkman, who is lost in the village-life and wants to escape. She sets off on a voyage in her dirty, old red car to discover the world outside, but she soon realises her freedom is all a dream when life drags her back to the village. She was still lost and life went back to it’s normal, drudging self.

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Zoom in and have a look at the RESEARCH (1) FOR UNIT X

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UNIT X research 2

 Fashion/Hacienda

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UNIT X research 1

After hearing about this youth movement

‘Madchester’

happening in the late 80s and early 90s, we decided as a group that this would be a good topic to work on for several reasons: Manchester is a place close to our hearts and researching its youth history and how Madchester’s fashion/music/drugs has influenced Manchester’s young people (the likes of us and other art students) of today. For one, i can definitely see the baggy, care-free look coming back in, in the form of bucket hats and denim jackets.

So we began by gathering images from the Madchester era an creating an online moodboard. After the group tutorial we realised we did not have enough research to back up any work we did, so over the last few days we’ve been gathering and gathering. I know that I wanted to focus on looking at the attitude of people in the rave culture and how that influenced their clothing, drug-taking and music-making/listening. 

We gathered as a group on Wednesday, took out some books, and read them in the park, discussing what these books told us about Madchester. 

So far ‘The Madchester Scene’- by Richard Luck- has taught me a little of the attitude of the people during this time:

‘Madchester was about being young. dumb and full of come... but it was also about knowing yourself.’

‘It was about having a bit of money, a plectrum and a few grams of your ‘medicine’ of choice in your pocket.’

‘It was about buggering up your posture... scuffing your feet on the floor... dancing like a monkey.’

‘It was about romanticising gang culture and graffiti even though you probably weren’t in a gang and almost certainly didn’t own an aerosol.’

‘It was about realising how terrifying life was and then choosing not to be afraid... then saying “OK, let’s have it!”’

The young people seemed reckless, fearless, pumped with attitude, cheap booze and ecstasy, and perhaps sometimes happy to appear more so than they actually were. I thought it was just today’s teenagers that put on an act and were not as authentically reckless and edgy as they look, so I was pretty intrigued when this book pointed out to me that fake-til-you-make-it was ingrained in Madchester culture too.

Next, I want to get MAKING something. I thrive on research, but equally getting hands on, gets the ideas flowing and the excitement going. Next week, I’m going to buy an item of late 80s/early 90s clothing (perhaps a baggy top or an ugly bucket hat) and go crazy decorating it Madchester style. I’m going to try: image transferring rave scenes onto it, splashing around a bit of paint, using mud, pouring lager over it. I’m going to look at how the attitude influenced the fasion, and try to recreate some aspects of this which I find particularly interesting.

I am looking forward to this project because it’s a chance to be free in my creativity, without being too precious about work, use colour/texture/objects/old photographs and maybe learn some new techniques like filming/editing film by learning from my new fashion/arr direction peers.